The other day I was showing a $400,000 home which was under construction and about 90% complete. The doors, windows, and locks were all in. As I'm showing the 3500 SF home I came out of a room and saw a man in the house. The guy was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and didn't really look like someone looking at a $400,000 house. But more than that, from the moment I saw him, the alarms went off in my head. It just didn't feel right. I wasn't sure if he had just come in from the garage door or if he came in from the front door that I had left unlocked when my clients and I entered the home.
My clients appeared to be unbothered by the appearance of this fellow, but I was on alert. He looked like a contractor which would explain his presence because the home was still being built. But he wasn't doing anything. He was just walking around with his hands shoved in his pockets and looking around, but mostly looking down towards the floor.
I moved into the dining room and peeked out the window. There was now a truck in the driveway with some sort of electrical sign on the side of it that wasn't there when we came in. "Maybe he's a worker, surveying what he needs to do," I thought to myself. Then I noticed a beat up old blue car on the street with a man in the driver seat and the engine running. I kept my left eye on the man in the house trying not to alarm anybody and my right eye on my clients never turning my back on him and always aware of his proximity to me and my clients.
The next thing I know, the man from the car is now in the house. The second guy looks like a contractor too. He's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and has his hands shoved down his pockets as well. The thing that has be concerned here is that I've been in many new construction homes while workers are there. Workers are directed and busy and.... well... working. They are never just walking around. Now I notice that they are glancing at us out the corner of their eyes while looking around at the floor. (The wood floor is covered with paper to protect it, so there really isn't anything on the floor that could possibly be grabbing their attention.) I thought about saying, "Can I help you?" But decided that if they were up to no good that would only incite them. They appeared nervous and I just didn't want to stir this pot. I decided to keep my mouth shut, remain between the guys and my clients, and keep my back to a wall.
By now, my clients were ready to leave, and I definitely did NOT deter them from doing so. We left out the door we came in through. I locked it pretending those guys didn't exist and put the key back in the lockbox.
I don't know that those guys were ever really any trouble. I had called later that day to tell the listing agent, and she appreciated the call. As far as I know nothing at the house was harmed, but it was a very creepy event and I learned a good lesson. LOCK THE DOORS, DUMMY!
Really, we can't be too careful. There are all sorts of people out there. I used to leave the doors unlocked in case the trouble-maker in the house was my client so I had an escape route. Now, I lock the doors when I'm showing. We had not parked in the driveway to see that house. We had parked on the street just across from the house, so to a passerby, it would have looked like the house was unattended and we were all in the master bathroom when the guy came into the house. I've seen the stories of bad people coming into a home during a showing to do mean things to agent and client.
All I can say is, I'm glad nothing happened. And now, I lock the doors.
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